Research and News August 2018

We like to stay on top of the latest news in functional medicine and nutrition. If you do too, you’ll find our monthly, easy-to-digest compilation of research and news articles right here. Check back regularly to find updates, or follow us through our newsletters and social media to ensure you don’t miss any.

“Considerable evidence” for Melatonin in Cancer Prevention and Treatment
There is considerable evidence that melatonin may be of use in the prevention and treatment of cancer,” according to a new paper in the International Journal of Molecular Science. I consider it a useful component of our anti-cancer arsenal. This also highlights the importance of healthy sleep for cancer prevention, a time when our bodies naturally switch to producing melatonin (only half of us get good quality sleep now, compared with 95 percent 50 years ago). Melatonin is known to act as an antioxidant, immune balancer, and has the ability to epigenetically regulate gene expression related to tumor suppression as well as aging.

Are Gut Bacteria Thwarting Your Weight Loss Attempts?
Bacteria residing in your gut can derail your weight loss attempts. These resident microbes can alter how we utilize dietary carbohydrates, as the Mayo Clinic now recognizes, making them more readily available to our bodies. We also witness the challenges that poor gut microbiomes present for weight loss including significantly inducing cravings, and provoking inappropriate immune responses that perpetuate the cycle of weight promotion. A comprehensive gut restoration protocol is therefore a foundational component for addressing apparent weight loss resistance.

Probiotic Adaptation to Survive Harsh Stomach Environments
An often-asked question – can probiotics really survive the harsh acidic environment of the stomach, bile acid secretions, to reach the lower gastrointestinal tract unharmed? After all, these are designed to keep pathogenic infections from occurring. Certain bacterial phyla, including commensal (helpful) microbes, have created genetic ‘adaptations’ that allow them to colonize the gut. New research shows that spore formation and the ability to export protons our of their cell (to prevent internal acidification) are two likely mechanisms used by gut-loving probiotics.

The Right and Wrong Ways to Implement Low Carb Diets
How is it that both high and low carb diets can be associated with increased mortality risk? The answer likely lies in the variation of the diet that you implement, as argued in The Lancet Public Health. Low carb diets that are high in animal products and low in plant phytonutrients miss important health- and longevity-promoting compounds. Similarly, high carb diets that are rich in refined grains and sugars will push insulin and glucose too high, with negative consequences, and can also be lacking in phytonutrients. Our nutrition team can help you get it right.

When Probiotics AREN’T Helpful
Could probiotics be making your symptoms worse? We normally think of probiotics (beneficial gut microbes) as hugely health-promoting. But if you happen to have an excess level of microbes in your small intestine you can experience digestive discomfort including bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation, and abdominal pain, as well as potentially brain fog, headaches, skin rashes and more. Probiotics often make these symptoms worse since they add to the total bacterial load. You will find more resources on this condition, SIBO, on our site.

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It’s time that we, practitioners, re-consider the approach that ‘pushing’ methylation reactions with supplementation alters epigenetic methylation expression. In their new eBook, Fitzgerald and Hodges explain how to support epigenetic and metabolic methylation. Learn how to support methylation the RIGHT WAY with The Methylation Diet and Lifestyle — a smart, safe plan that includes diet, exercise, gut health, stress, resilience, sleep and ways to limit “methyl donor drain.

The central role that methylation plays demands more careful attention than simply reaching for supplements. That’s why I’m excited to incorporate the ideas from the new eBook for cliniciansThe Methylation Diet and Lifestyle into my own practice. In this book, Dr. Fitzgerald and Romilly Hodges explain how to use a broader and safer approach to healthy methylation expression, including diet, limiting methyl donor drain, stress response, exercise and gut health. It’s a must-read!

Dr. Mark Hyman, MD9 Time NY Times Best Selling Author

I LOVE LOVE LOVE your new ebook, Methylation Diet & Lifestyle! It’s brilliant! Kara and Romilly make a complex biochemical subject easy to understand. I love your explanation of methylation, the nuance and distinctions like considering the complex interplay among the SNPs, the needed nutrients, and the food recommendations! It’s a must read for practitioners and patients.” – Certified Nutrition Consultant and Author of Nourishing Hope for Autism.

Julie MatthewsCertified Nutrition Consultant

These days, methylation is a ‘hot’ topic in functional medicine: everyone knows it’s important, but there is debate about which is the most effective clinical protocol is for the best outcome. What I like about the Methylation Diet and Lifestyle E-book is that it takes a whole-self, lifestyle-medicine approach to this complicated area of clinical medicine and makes it actionable for the millions of us with variability in our ability to detoxify through methylation. This 140-page report is grounded in practical steps to get those with methylation deficits on their way to feeling empowered and healthy.

Dr. Deanna MinichAuthor of Whole Detox

Dr. Fitzgerald’s book is an extraordinary integration of a vast amount of diverse information that makes practical sense of the complex interplay between our genes, the folate/vitamin B12 cycle, homocysteine, and the clinical importance of methylation.

Jeffrey Bland, PHDPresident PLMI

The Methylation Diet and Lifestyle Book contains “news to use” that makes the very complex human biochemistry story of methylation reader friendly. It is a wonderful introduction to how nutrition and lifestyle can influence the epigenetic regulation of gene expression.

Jeffrey Bland, PHDPresident

Finally, an easy to read and understand explanation of methylation that is suited for both clinicians and the public. In Methylation Diet and Lifestyle, Dr Kara Fitzgerald demystifies the genetics and offers a rational approach that steers away from high dose supplementation as the answer, and instead focuses on using food as medicine. Thank you for bringing balance to this conversation!

Susan Blum, MD, MPHFounder & Director, Blum Center for Health

It takes a special skill to be able to make the complex understandable and accessible without losing the original essence. Kara has that skill in abundance and her Methylation book is a latest shining example. She has a rare gift to impart the tenets of Functional Medicine and produce brilliant guides and case studies, and in this field I have been fortunate to learn more from her writings and lectures than from any other professional. I have been involved with nutrigenomics professionally for a number of years, and I can honestly recommend this book wholeheartedly no matter how experienced the reader. This is a book that works on many different levels and is representative of standards that all writers in the genre should aspire to.

This book provides the tools you need to make an important contribution to your health, by understanding and applying the nutritional and lifestyle factors that impact the methylation process in every cell of your body.

The Sandy Hook Clinic (SHC) is located in the Sandy Hook Village section of Newtown, Connecticut in Fairfield County, Connecticut. The clinic is housed on the fourth floor of a rehabilitated old brick mill building, overlooking the Pootatuck River.